Goodwill Donation Center Approved Over Neighbor Objections

The Haddonfield zoning board unanimously approved a use variance for a Goodwill donation center Tuesday over the objections of several neighbors near the Grove Street site.

Board members also had spirited exchanges with Goodwill's attorney, Damien DelDuca, a Haddonfield resident, over the center. But they concluded concerns about traffic, trucks, parking, upkeep of the site and losing a commercial tax-paying business were not enough to deny the variance.

"They proved their case," said board member David Hunt, who was elected chairman of the board after the three-and-a-half hour meeting in a brief reorganization vote. "They did the right thing to get it zoned for what it is."

Outgoing zoning Chairwoman Susan Baltake agreed.

"The positives outweigh the negatives," she said.

Goodwill of Southern New Jersey and Philadelphia plans to open a 1,700-square-foot donation dropoff center in the fall at 170 Grove St., on the site of the former Haddonfield Shellfish store. The site was zoned for a retail business, but Goodwill wanted an exception to operate a donation center with no retail. Donations of clothes, furniture, computer equipment and other household items will be collected at the site, picked up daily, and not stored on the property, Goodwill officials said.

DelDuca told the board that Goodwill only needed to establish the center is of "inherently beneficial use" to be granted the variance. Acting zoning board Solicitor Francis Ryan agreed. DelDuca argued the beneficial use is part of Goodwill's mission to collect donations to pay to employ people, including the handicapped.

"We make taxpayers out of tax users," Michael Shaw, Goodwill's chief operating officer told the board.

But several board members and borough residents who live near the site weren't initially buying it.

"You're taking a taxable entity and turning it into a nontaxable entity," said board member Robert Grady. "It's a stretch to say that a dropoff center here is of 'inherently beneficial' use for Haddonfield. Would you be willing to voluntarily make a payment in lieu of taxes to the borough?"

DelDuca told Grady that case law provides nonprofit companies like Goodwill a "break" in paying taxes if it establishes its operation provides a public good. Shaw said in addition to providing jobs, discount clothing and household goods to the needy, Goodwill also collects tons of electronic waste that can be counted as collections for the borough and be used to qualify for state recycling grants.

Zoning officials were not immediately sure how much Haddonfield Shellfish paid in taxes.

"Are we willing to give away a taxable ratable?" resident Amy Gold asked. "I don't know how this helps, taking taxes off the board."

Patty Perkins, who lives near the site on Grove Street near Hopkins Avenue, also was not sold.

"What I'm envisioning is traffic, tractor-trailers and more chaos " she said. "I live on a quaint, little area and a narrow road. To me, its a no-brainer that we don't want to swap a retail store for this. I just don't think it's the place."

Goodwill officials and some board members noted that while Hopkins Avenue and nearby Hopkins Lane are small streets, Grove Street, where the front of the center will be, is one of the most heavily trafficked roads in this 2.5-square-mile borough. They also concluded that the existing retail zoning could produce even more traffic and congestion.

Goodwill officials agreed to consider avoiding pickup times when school is starting and ending, to use only box trucks and no tractor-trailers for pickups and to store nothing outside of the building. They also agreed to have the single attendee park on the premises and not on the street.

Shaw said Goodwill wants to be a good neighbor. He said they chose the site because of Haddonfield's relative affluence.

"Townships and boroughs with higher median incomes have more disposable goods," he said. "Better quality goods, the more we can sell and the more funds can be derived from it."

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